Baseball championship preview

Division I, Division III, Division IV.

San Dieguito coach Jack McDowell and his pitchers are one win from a San Diego Section championship.

S.D. Section Championships

BASEBALL

DIVISION I

(8) Mira Mesa (21-14) vs. (2) Grossmont (25-8)

Where: USD’s Fowler Park

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Radio: ESPN 1700

TV: Time Warner 411 and 4SD (taped, 8 p.m. Saturday)

Outlook: Mira Mesa, which won four straight elimination games to reach the championship game, is hitting just .251 as a team. Trey Lomax (.308) and Matt Reitano (.316) are the only Marauders over .300. Lomax leads the team with 15 RBIs while Reitano has 14. Lomax and Joey Portugal have pitched this week, so the title-game start will fall to Rusty Huber (5-3, 2.46 ERA) or Tyler Thomas (6-2, 1.51 ERA). Grossmont is hitting .320 as a team, with six hitters over .333. Nico Maida (.417) is the leader. Hunter Stratton leads the team with 11 doubles and 31 RBIs. Derek Rustich has 28 RBIs and Peyton Lindsay 25. Ace Joe Viskas (11-2, 1.80 ERA) pitched seven innings Tuesday, so the start figures to go to Brandon Weed (5-0, 1.83 ERA). The teams played on March 14, with Grossmont winning 8-2.

DIVISION III

(11) San Ysidro (17-15) vs. (1) San Dieguito (27-7)

Where: USD’s Fowler Park

When: Friday, 3:30 p.m.

Outlook: This is the first appearance in the finals for San Ysidro, which entered the playoffs as a play-in team and earned a spot in the title game with four straight wins. The team is hitting .302, led by Jose Garcia (.462), who has four homers and 27 RBIs, Octavio Arroyo (.402, 18 RBIs), Conrado Diaz (.396, four homers, 28 RBIs) and Gilbert Suarez (.391, 20 RBIs). Ace Daniel Tellez pitched Tuesday, so Jose Magallon (6-3, 2.64 ERA) figures to get the start. San Dieguito wins with pitching, posting a 1.31 team ERA. The Mustangs outlasted Christian 1-0 in 11 innings Wednesday to reach the title game. After playing two games this week, SDA might have to piece the title game together with Jack Williams (7-1, 0.93 ERA), Marc Vela (9-1, 1.12), Noah Huggins (6-2, 0.80) and Dominic Anguiano (2-1. 4.81). Anguiano leads the team with 20 RBIs.

DIVISION IV

(6) EC Southwest (17-10) vs. (5) Mt. Carmel (12-21)

Where: Cal State San Marcos

When: Friday, 1 p.m.

Outlook: Southwest has only one .300 hitter — Ricardo Vargas (.329, with 11 RBIs). Gilbert Cano (.275) also has 11 RBIs. Tito Montano (.280) has 10 RBIs. Staff ace Robert Beltran (7-1, 1.17 ERA) pitched Tuesday, so Cano (4-5, 3.20 ERA) is expected to get the pitching assignment. Mt. Carmel is hitting just .233 with two home runs as a team. CJ Chew (.312) is the only .300 hitter, and he leads the team with 15 RBIs. After an 11-inning win Tuesday over Castle Park, the Sundevils will probably piece together the final with Zach Martirano (3-5, 2.61 ERA), Paul McDermott (4-7, 4,06 ERA) and Andrew Hnat (3-7, 3.57 ERA). Both teams won four games in a row after starting in the play-in round.